Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (also known as Godzilla Part 2: City on the Edge of Battle) is a 2018 Japanese computer-animated science fiction kaiju film featuring Godzilla, produced by Toho Animation and animated by Polygon Pictures, in association with Netflix. It is the 33rd film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, the 31st Godzilla film produced by Toho, and the second entry in the anime trilogy. It is a sequel to Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters and is co-directed by Kōbun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita. The film was released theatrically in Japan on May 18, 2018 and released worldwide on Netflix on July 18, 2018. Plot Following the events of Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, the Aratrum is unable to contact Haruo and the rest after their encounter with the original Godzilla. The Captain orders that if drones do not find survivors by forty-eight hours, the Aratrum will withdraw from Earth. Haruo Sakaki is rescued by a native girl named Miana and has his wounds treated with a strange powder. She belongs to an indigenous tribe called the "Houtua", surviving descendants of the humans left behind. The Houtua recover Haruo's surviving team and hold them for questioning. Miana and her twin sister Maina use telepathy to communicate with their guests to understand their reasons for burning their lands during their earlier landing and battle against Godzilla. After the Houtua realize the group was after Godzilla, the twins inform Haruo that their god was destroyed by Godzilla and left behind an egg. With an understanding that Haruo is waging war against Godzilla and not the Houtua, they are released, but the twins accompany them as both protective guides and observers. The group is attacked by a swarm of wormlike creatures, but they are able to fight them off with the twins' help. During the fight, Galu-Gu realizes that the twins' arrowheads are laced with "nanometal", a remnant of Mechagodzilla. They are then attacked by a pack of Servums, but Metphies arrives with some other survivors and drives them off. Galu-Gu explains that the nanotechnology that built Mechagodzilla somehow survived and in the past 20,000 years, it has steadily self-replicated and expanded itself. With this fact, the Bilusaludo tell Haruo and the rest that they can win against Godzilla with the nanometal, which prompts Haruo and the rest of the crew to remain on Earth and continue the original plan to defeat Godzilla. They manage to make contact with the Aratrum, which takes the few crew members who wished to leave and agrees to stay in orbit. Tracing the source of an energy signature they detected, they discover the nano-materials have rebuilt the former facility that held Mechagodzilla, which Galu-Gu dubs as "Mechagodzilla City". The twins part ways, but warn Haruo that the nanometal is toxic; the Bilusaludo assure the group that the technology is harmless to them. The team soon discovers that even though Mechagodzilla was destroyed, half of its head survived and has reconstructed and expanded the original facility it was held in. Galu-Gu manages to gain access to Mechagodzilla's surviving brain and has it build all necessary materials for them to use in order to trap Godzilla within the city, then cover it with nanometal, before finishing it off with EMP harpoons. As they get ready, Yuko confesses her feelings for Haruo and kisses him. Godzilla awakens and quickly advances on the city, which forces Galu-Gu to sacrifice the city's defenses in order to divert power and resources to finish building the harpoon. Haruo, Yuko, and Belu-be battle Godzilla with aerial Vulture suits in order to slow it down. The trio managed to hold Godzilla long enough for the city to complete its construction and proceed to lure Godzilla into the trap. Godzilla survives the attack and begins overheating the facility. Galu-Gu refuses to lose and decides to execute nanometal fusion, where the humans and Bilusaludo will fuse with the city to become a greater weapon to destroy Godzilla. While the remaining Bilusaludo embrace the fusion, the humans are appalled by the decision and escape the city. The three Vultures begin to fuse with their pilots, against Yuko's will. To Galu-Gu's bewilderment, the nanometal seems to have no effect on Haruo and fails to assimilate him. Metphies warns Haruo that if it is not stopped, Mechagodzilla City will consume the entire planet. Galu-Gu argues that in order to defeat Godzilla, they must become greater than humanity. Haruo is conflicted, but ultimately chooses to win the battle with his humanity intact. He turns his guns on the city's command center and destroys it along with Galu-Gu, which deactivates the nanometal but sets Godzilla free, who proceeds to destroy the city. Haruo tends to Yuko, who is unable to wake from her comatose state, while the surviving humans hide in a cave with Metphies as everything burns around them. In a post-credits scene that flashes back to an earlier scene, Metphies explains to Haruo that another monster, far more powerful than Godzilla, destroyed his planet, and reveals that the monster's name is "Ghidorah". Voice cast Production The second installment in the anime trilogy was announced in a second post-credits scene in the theatrical release of the film revealing the film's Japanese title, poster featuring Mechagodzilla and the film's 2018 release date. The film's Japanese title was revealed as Gojira: Kessen Kidō Zōshoku Toshi (translations varied from Godzilla: Battle Mobile Breeding City to Godzilla: The City Mechanized for the Final Battle), while the English title was later revealed as Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle. In March 2018, the film's official website revealed a new poster, plot details, and that singer XAI will return to perform the film's theme song The Sky Falls. The English dub was produced by Post Haste Digital. Music Harry Gregson-Williams will return to compose the soundtrack, marking it his second Godzilla film score. XAI will also return to perform the film's theme song The Sky Falls. On his work on the film, Hattori stated: :"18 years after Godzilla 2000, I am glad to be back in the world of the new Godzilla which was opened by Shin Godzilla. This is the first animated film in the history of Godzilla, and I am excited to be able to take on the challenge while at the same time I feel it is a very big mission. I think this will be a Godzilla movie that you can’t possibly imagine. I expressed in music my own feelings about the characters and the overwhelming presence of Godzilla created by the two directors, Mr. Shizuno and Mr. Seshita." - Takayuki Hattori, Toho Press Notes Release Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle was given a theatrical release in Japan on May 18, 2018 and released worldwide on Netflix on July 18, 2018. Box office Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle was released in 158 theaters in Japan and reached eighth place at the box office. Critical reception Naoya Fujita from IGN gave the film a 4.5 rating, indicating a "bad" rating, stating, "Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle takes some promising ingredients, but cooks them into an unpalatable meal. We never really understand what the protagonists are fighting for, and there's not even a satisfying scene of urban destruction (a Godzilla staple). It fails both emotionally and viscerally." James Grebey from Inverse called the film "bleakly pointless", stating the film is "extremely self-serious, depressing and fairly light on fun" and called the film "the biggest bummer in Godzilla’s filmography." James Perkins from HeyUGuys gave the film 3 stars out of 5, stating the film is "neither the best or worst iteration of the Godzilla franchise but is most definitely made with the intention of trying something new but adding a heavy sci-fi and futuristic element to the famous monster." Jeff Pawlak from Geekiverse awarded the film 5.5 out of 10, feeling that the film had "great ideas" with an "interesting setting" but felt the CG animation was "ugly as ever", felt the film lacked complex characters and action, stating "City on the Edge of Battle completely mishandles the pass from Planet of the Monsters, failing to adequately explore the worthwhile worldbuilding it introduces, or that its predecessor introduced." Callum May from Anime News Network gave the film an overall A- rating, praising Haruo for growing as a character but criticized the lack of development for the other characters. May also criticized the second act for dragging by having the characters simply wander in the city. May concluded by stating, "While it doesn't fix many of the issues from the first film, Haruo's development manages to sell a more character-driven narrative and makes his relationships more empathetic. It's perhaps not the film that fans were expecting, but it's the film this trilogy needed to lead into an epic conclusion in Godzilla: The Planet Eater." Mitch Nissen from ComiConverse gave the film 3 stars out of 5, criticizing the slow pace but praising the film for improving on Part 1 by expanding its ideas. Nissen also noted how the anime films do not feel like anime or kaiju films but rather, legitimate sci-fi reinventions, stating, "they are pure science fiction. Fans of in-depth cerebral science fiction should find much to enjoy about the films. References to Godzilla lore abound, much visible only to the hyper analytical Godzilla fan." Taylor Bauldwin from Geeks of Color called the film "disappointing". He criticized the slow pace, the lack of compelling motivations for the characters, and the climax battle for not carrying any weight. He concluded by stating, "I did enjoy the style and sounds of the movie but that alone is not nearly enough for redemption here. This movie begins, things happen, and then the movie ends exactly the same way it started." Sequel The third and final film in the anime trilogy, titled Godzilla: The Planet Eater was released on November 9, 2018. References External links * * Official website * Category:2010s monster movies Category:Films about extraterrestrial life Category:Post-apocalyptic films Category:Post-apocalyptic anime and manga Category:Japanese films Category:Godzilla films Category:Polygon Pictures Category:Films set in the 2040s Category:Films set in the future Category:Toho animated films Category:2010s Japanese films Category:Mecha anime and manga Category:Kaiju films Category:Films directed by Kobun Shizuno Category:2018 anime films Category:2018 films Category:Anime films scored by Harry Gregson-Williams Category:Anime films scored by Stephanie Economou Category:Anime films scored by Bryce Jacobs Category:Anime films scored by Nick Glennie-Smith Category:Anime films scored by Steve Mazzaro